Ursula von der Leyen will seek European Parliament's backing for her appointment as Commission chief next week, but an unexpected ruling arriving from Luxembourg could stymie proceedings. The European Court of Justice has confirmed that it will issue a much-anticipated ruling over access to information related to Ursula von der Leyen's handling of pandemic vaccine contracts next Wednesday (17 July), the eve of a crucial vote on the Commission President's reappointment in the European Parliament. Several Green MEPs filed requests to access COVID-19 vaccine contracts in 2021 negotiated by the Commission and in an attempt to understand terms and conditions of the agreements, brokered by the EU executive.
The ruling is expected to be publicly available by early afternoon on Wednesday (17 July), just a day before von der Leyen’s reappointment vote in Strasbourg, which was this week confirmed for Thursday 18 July by the Parliament’s conference of presidents. In the past, von der Leyen faced criticism from lawmakers for providing only partial access to vaccine contracts, redacted versions of which were placed online. While von der Leyen was originally praised for the EU's COVID-19 vaccine contracts, attention subsequently to calls and text messages she shared with Albert Bourla, CEO of vaccine-maker Pfizer, as MEPs and the media sought more details on how they were brokered.
The Commission argued that the calls and messages were temporary and not strictly documents which needed .